Jaguars march on as Smileys edge Zimbabwe

The Gauteng Jaguars were given a scare but rebounded
to beat the North West Flames 54-47 in the second round of the Telkom Netball
League in Pretoria on Saturday.

The two-time defending champions were coming off a
thrilling two-goal victory over the Free State Crinums on Friday and looked
unsettled at the start of their second game of the weekend against the Flames.

They found themselves in unfamiliar territory when
they fell three goals behind at one stage against the team they comfortably
beat by 11 goals in the first round. But they soon righted themselves and after
being 15-all at the first break, reached half time 32-25 ahead.

That would all change again in the third period,
however, as eight unanswered goals from the Flames saw them quickly closing the
gap and then even sneaking ahead. It was almost seven minutes before the
Jaguars scored a goal, but once they did, they got to work regaining their
lead. With the Flames squandering some golden opportunities, the Gauteng team
were able to restore their dominance, reaching the final break 41-35 up.

Another strong start from the Flames saw them closing
the gap once again, but not all the way, eventually allowing the Jaguars to
surge ahead again in the dying minutes and win by seven goals this time.

Meanwhile, in a clash between two of the invitational
teams, which was effectively a World Cup warm-up match, the SPAR Smileys beat
Zimbabwe 50-41. The Zimbabweans are headed to the global tournament for the
first time in July and used the match against the side made up chiefly of
SA-based Proteas players as vital preparation.

It was by far the tightest contest the Spar Smileys
have encountered so far at the Telkom Netball League with the scores neck and
neck in the first quarter. The South Africans managed to edge ahead before
their neighbours came back at them to level matters at 8-8. But the home team
managed to get ahead again to reach the first break 14-11 ahead. There were
only two goals in it by half time, which they reached on 23-21, and there was
more of a doing-dong battle in the third period.

The visitors pulled themselves level again at the
start of the third at 23-all, thanks to an impressive defensive effort, and
then took the lead for the first time at 24-23. The lead exchanged hands
several time in the quarter but the teams were all square on 33-all at the
break.

The start of the final period, saw some errors
creeping in for the Zimbabweans, while more accurate shooting from the home
side meant they could edge ahead. With five minutes to go, the Smileys were
five goals up and with the momentum going their way, they managed to stretch
that lead to a somewhat flattering nine goals after a tough tussle throughout.

Speaking afterwards about what changed in the final
quarter, Smileys coach Dorette Badenhorst explained: “I think the problem is
we’re losing too many of our centre passes. I said to my players, we need to
keep possession, we need to stand strong. There was also better communication
on defence, working together and not playing alone.”

The coach added that such a tough encounter was good
for the team and helpful for national coach Norma Plummer to finalise her World
Cup team.

“If you look at the selection that still needs to come
for Norma, I think it was a great game to make those last decisions, especially
in the centre court and we tried to play different combinations we haven’t
played yet. They’re tough, very physical and that’s what we’re going to get in
international netball and we need to adapt and play good netball and keep
possession.”

Earlier in the day, the Free State Crinums put in a
dominant performance to beat the Gauteng Golden Fireballs 66-42.

It was a tight start to the match, with both teams
looking to find their rhythm. But the Crinums started pulling away towards the
end of the first quarter, reaching the break 16-8 up, and they didn’t look
back.

Captain Lefébre Rademan was once again spot on at goal
attack, while goalkeeper Ané Retief excelled in defence. The Fireballs
eventually managed to stem the flow of goals and made some good attacks of
their own to draw the third quarter at 14 goals each, meaning the teams headed
into the final period on 49-32.

The Crinums then came out firing in the last quarter
forcing numerous turnovers and scoring a quick eight unanswered goals.

Crinums coach Burta de Kock paid tribute to her young
team. “I’m so happy because we had four 18-year-old babies on court and they
are such a brilliant, awesome investment in netball in South Africa,” she said.

“I’m so glad that we could introduce them today – to
explore and give them experience so I am very happy. They did very well and the
senior players stepped up and carried them through it.”

Meanwhile, in the second division clash between the
Aloes and the Mpumalanga Sunbirds it was the Eastern Cape side that maintained
their unbeaten record in the tournament so far. The Aloes led throughout the
game and finally emerged 46-38 winners.

In other second division action, the KwaZulu-Natal
Kingdom Stars proved they’ll be providing the Aloes with some tough competition
at the top of the table by also remaining unbeaten. They outshone the Northern
Cape Diamonds 68-33 to notch up the same record of three wins and one draw.